Monday, April 04, 2016

Is Donald Trump blackmailing Fox News? Maybe.

It was also thanks to some information he had gathered that Trump was able to do something that no other Republican has done before: take on Fox News. An odd bit of coincidence had given him a card to play against Fox founder Roger Ailes. In 2014, I published a biography of Ailes, which upset the famously paranoid executive. Several months before it landed in stores, Ailes fired his longtime PR adviser Brian Lewis, accusing him of being a source. During Lewis’s severance negotiations, Lewis hired Judd Burstein, a powerhouse litigator, and claimed he had “bombs” that would destroy Ailes and Fox News. That’s when Trump got involved.

“When Roger was having problems, he didn’t call 97 people, he called me,” Trump said. Burstein, it turned out, had worked for Trump briefly in the ’90s, and Ailes asked Trump to mediate. Trump ran the negotiations out of his office at Trump Tower. “Roger had lawyers, very expensive lawyers, and they couldn’t do anything. I solved the problem.” Fox paid Lewis millions to go away quietly, and Trump, I’m told, learned everything Lewis had planned to leak. If Ailes ever truly went to war against Trump, Trump would have the arsenal to launch a retaliatory strike.

The above was written in the New York Magazine article by Gabriel Sherman who wrote the book "The Loudest Voice in the Room" about Roger Ailes back in 2014.

I read that book but I have to admit that I did not remember this passage, which seems to suggest that Trump may have Roger Ailes in a very ticklish position.

If accurate it not only reinforces the kind of prick Donald Trump is when dealing with people who might stand in his way, but it could also open him up to all kinds of legal problems if it came to light that he was overtly threatening Ailes.

I swear I have NEVER in my life seen anything like this 2016 presidential race in all of my years following politics.

The only thing that will bring Ailes down (because I read the book about him and it definitely signals a very troubled, paranoid, noxious man) is that I believe Fox may have done what Rupert did in England---bugged peoples phones, hacked emails etc. If so--- there goes Fox. The ramifications are immense.

Not a lot of Americans paid attention to the hacking in England (we tend as awhole to be uninterested in the rest of the world)---but it took a whole lot of people down and sickened a country.

Whatever it is --it only signifies why Donald Trump shouldn't be allowed out of NYC without an ankle bracelet = and certainly should only get in the WH through the visitor's entranceonly visit the WH

Why the US media ignored Murdoch's brazen bid to hijack the presidency Carl BernsteinDid the Washington Post and others underplay the story through fear of the News Corp chairman, or simply tin-eared judgment?

"So now we have it: what appears to be hard, irrefutable evidence of Rupert Murdoch's ultimate and most audacious attempt – thwarted, thankfully, by circumstance – to hijack America's democratic institutions on a scale equal to his success in kidnapping and corrupting the essential democratic institutions of Great Britain through money, influence and wholesale abuse of the privileges of a free press.

In the American instance, Murdoch's goal seems to have been nothing less than using his media empire – notably Fox News – to stealthily recruit, bankroll and support the presidential candidacy of General David Petraeus in the 2012 election.

Thus in the spring of 2011 – less than 10 weeks before Murdoch's centrality to the hacking and politician-buying scandal enveloping his British newspapers was definitively revealed – Fox News' inventor and president, Roger Ailes, dispatched an emissary to Afghanistan to urge Petraeus to turn down President Obama's expected offer to become CIA director and, instead, run for the Republican nomination for president, with promises of being bankrolled by Murdoch. Ailes himself would resign as president of Fox News and run the campaign, according to the conversation between Petraeus and the emissary, K T McFarland, a Fox News on-air defense "analyst" and former spear carrier for national security principals in three Republican administrations.

All this was revealed in a tape recording of Petraeus's meeting with McFarland obtained by Bob Woodward, whose account of their discussion, accompanied online by audio of the tape, was published in the Washington Post – distressingly, in its style section, and not on page one, where it belonged – and, under the style logo, online on December 3. "

I have been around people verbalizing worship of her seeing her on Fox. One said "Saint Sarah" because she was going to save us from Obama and his plan to enforce communism not letting people speak etc. She explained her father was imprisoned by her birth country communist government. I wonder what this woman and others think of Sarah's stance anti immigrants and how they are all a danger to us?

I don't think her English is great (but then, look at native born Palin) but Barbara Walters found her to be very intelligent. Regardless, to me, nude pictures takes her right out of the running to be First Lady. Heck don't nude photos get girls thrown out of Trump's beauty pageants?

"I’m very proud of him. He is a hard worker, he’s kind, he has a great heart, he’s tough, he’s smart, he’s a great communicator, he’s a great negotiator, he’s telling the truth, he’s a great leader, he’s fair. As you may know by now, when you attack him, he will punch back ten times harder,” Melania Trump said to applause as part of her short scripted speech. "No matter who you are, a man, or a woman, he treats everyone equal."

What does Melania mean when she said Donald Trump is tough and will punch you back ten times harder? Look like Donald was scared at his rally when the guy approached him on stage.

I seriously doubt this would be the first time “little fingers Donnie” blackmailed someone.

I am surprised we haven’t heard more from people that were involved in his business dealings or did he threaten them to keep their mouths shut also?

Didn’t he make a remark to Cruz, that he could release stuff about Heidi, not exactly blackmail, but a threat of blackmail. Didn’t he “threaten” the GOP if he doesn’t get the nomination, people will riot.

Donnie preys on the weak. The fact that he makes his campaign volunteers sign a document never to speak badly about the donald and his family for the rest of donnie’s life speaks volumes about how donnie does business.

Maybe it will come out The Donald has been hiding his money in Panama!!!

Breaking news: MoveOn members just voted 71% to 29% to launch a major campaign to show that our country rejects Donald Trump's hate-baiting, racism, misogyny, and violence.

Will you chip in $3 to help jump-start this campaign?

Yes, I'll chip in to help defeat Donald Trump.

This is an unusual campaign—going after the leading Republican before the nominations on the Democratic or Republican sides have been decided. But, if we wait until the fall, it may be too late, and Trump may have succeeded in redefining himself in the eyes of the media. We can't afford to let that happen.

Donald Trump is not just your typical right-wing Republican. He represents something fundamentally dangerous for democracy—something we haven't seen in years, since the days of George Wallace and Joe McCarthy.

He's attacked entire ethnic and religious groups, calling them rapists and murderers.1 He's threatened violence if he doesn't get his way at the Republican National Convention.2 He's attacked freedom of the press, and his campaign manager was just charged with battery against a reporter.3,4

That's why it's not enough for him to lose. He needs to be unequivocally rejected by the American people so that he and his hateful brand of politics is buried in the dustbin of history. Will you chip in $3 to help launch MoveOn's campaign to defeat Donald Trump as well as his politics of hatred and incitement of violence?Already, MoveOn members have been gathering at peaceful demonstrations to stand against Trump's hate.

And earlier this month, MoveOn's executive directors joined a group of civil rights, women's rights, labor, environmental, and other progressive leaders—including supporters of both Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders—to oppose Trump’s hate-baiting and incitements to violence.

Your donation will allow us to take our campaign to the next level, including:

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Working with artists and public figures to loudly rebuke Trump's hateful stances through shareable digital content, creative ads, and other public expression;

"Even the slight possibility that Trump could win the election is scary enough to pull out all the stops." —Jim M., Providence, RI

"Trump's rhetoric is leading to an escalation of violence at not only his rallies, but also in America in general. We must speak out against hatred at every opportunity." —Amber L., Allendale, MI

"Because he will be a detriment to our economy, racial harmony, and a security risk to our country. As a Navy Veteran and mother of three racially diverse daughters, I am committed, like many, to help keep him out of the White House. He's not just a misogynist and bigot, he's going to cause World War 3, in my opinion." —Rubi W., Virginia Beach, VA "I'm an American Muslim teenager who recently got a full ride scholarship to study at MIT. I shouldn't have to worry about my parents being deported back to their home country. I should not have to worry about registering by force of the government. I should not have to worry about fleeing my home." —Jeba S., Laveen, AZ

"Trump is probably one of the most dangerous things that could happen to this country in my lifetime (I am 28). If just his campaign alone can divide the country and already incite violence, I don't want to wait and find out what atrocities he would bring about as president. I also think, regardless, it is needed in this time to stand in solidarity with Muslims, people of color, and all the people that Trump is trying to oppress." —Guy S., San Francisco, CA

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P.S. As part of the vote, we said we'll explore starting a Super PAC to allow us to have the funds needed to run ads, hire organizers, reach millions of voters, and more, that would be used only for the general election. We'll keep every MoveOn member posted if we move in that direction. But MoveOn depends on members like you to fund this work.

Trump, the national front-runner, arrived to a half-empty auditorium at the Milwaukee Theatre in a defensive crouch, beaten down by days of bad headlines and growing signs that Wisconsin — and perhaps even his best shot at winning the GOP nomination outright — was slipping from his grasp. He had his wife, Melania, make a rare campaign speech in the hopes that she might extinguish the recent fierce criticism over his remarks regarding women. She spoke for only two minutes, reading from notes.

Trump was not in his usual loquacious mood, at least initially. “I know you have a baseball game and a basketball game, we’re going to go really quickly tonight,” Trump began, as he looked out at empty balconies.

You say, "I swear I have NEVER in my life seen anything like this 2016 presidential race in all of my years following politics."

Here is the last part of a British observer of the U.S. election posted today in The Guardian:

"Clinton will very likely beat Trump decisively because he is even more unpopular with Republicans than she is with Democrats. There’s every chance that conservative donor money will start to flow towards Clinton who at least knows to speak very carefully about the things that really matter, like trade deals.

At least we’ll get the entertainment of watching her trying to destroy Isis using the methods by which she helped to create Isis, turning the Middle East into an endless game of Whac-A-Mole.

For America, and indeed the rest of the world, Clinton versus Trump will be like being on a bus being driven at high speed towards a cliff by a psychopath, where there’s a chance that a chimpanzee might grab control of the steering wheel.

It’s not a question of whether this will make things better or worse, it’s more that the whole idea of “better” may be gradually ceasing to exist."

"Trump seems to have the emotional range of a Power Rangers villain and the social skills of a teenage Minotaur. He looks like a pumpkin having a nervous breakdown, talks like the words are being fired out of his mouth by a tennis ball launcher and has the general manner of an arrogant televangelist suspected of murder by Columbo. His approach to public speaking? “If in doubt, switch to your internal monologue.”

"His core demographic? Possibly men whose holiday destinations would significantly overlap with a list of missing women. Trump is bringing out people who’ve never voted, people who felt they had no one to speak for them until now, people who throw microwaved beans at the television and people who go shopping in their pyjamas.

And who knows, if Trump’s supporters are using their eight-fingered fists to make banners and red hats rather than drunkenly beating their kid into a coma that they won’t let a black doctor treat, maybe that’s a good thing.

"Trump knows that he appeals to people who are suspicious not just of political elites but everything those elites believe in, including rationality, and when confronted with anything empirical instinctively retreats into unverifiable anecdotes."

I read recently (wish I could find the piece, I will look for it) that Ailes isn't around much anymore. His health is poor, I think it said he walks with a cane and really doesn't participate in much day to day, works from home in some limited capacity, he's already pretty much dunzo.

About Me

This blog is dedicated to finding the truth, exposing the lies, and holding our politicians and leaders accountable when they fall far short of the promises that they have made to both my fellow Alaskans and the American people.